Classic Kitchen Tailored for Entertaining

“Sarah entertains on steroids,” says Chicago designer Julia Edelmann. “She can have 50 people over in a heartbeat.” A high-octane mother of four, Sarah Nolan hosts holiday open houses, school and neighborhood gatherings, and pre-prom dinners for up to 80 teenagers. “I love to cook and have people in my home,” Sarah says. “I’m so fortunate to have this gorgeous house. If you have a big house, you might as well share it.”

Sarah bought her Winnetka, Illinois, home when it was in the final stages of construction, and quickly partnered with Edelmann to choose finishes and accents that would personalize the spaces.

“Sarah loved the quality of the construction and details, but she likes more modern designs and wanted the house to reflect her unique style,” Edelmann says. “This entire project was about taking a builder house and making it very personal.”

In the kitchen, the designer tweaked the layout to enlarge and add seating to the island. “The wood table was originally supposed to be attached to the island, but we made it freestanding for flexibility,” the designer says. When Sarah entertains large groups, the table is pulled forward to allow room for a bartender to stand between the table and island and serve drinks.

The lower height of the table also makes it a good place for rolling dough and other baking activities. Cube-shaped stools upholstered in turquoise provide additional seating and blasts of color that repeat blue-green accents from the adjoining family room.

Sarah and Edelmann’s client-designer relationship evolved into friendship as the two hit Chicago-area shops, such as those along Clark Street in the Andersonville neighborhood. “The hunt is so much more fun than pulling something out of a catalog,” Sarah says. A highlight was spotting light fixtures removed from the old Chicago Theatre on State Street. “We saw them lying on the floor by the door. We looked at each other and said ‘Kitchen!’ at the same time,” Sarah recalls. “I wanted something special over the island, and they are perfect. They make my house completely different.”

Another vintage find: a pair of iconic midcentury chairs designed by Richard Schultz, which Sarah uses as host chairs in the breakfast room. Edelmann re-covered the chrome-pedestal chairs in a textured fabric and combined them with vintage leather-and-wood chairs and a wood table. “Sarah wanted a farm table she wouldn’t have to worry about being too precious, so we custom made the table out of barn wood. We love to combine antique and modern.”

Roman shades add color and softness to the breakfast room, which has windows on three walls. “I love the breakfast room because you feel like you’re on a porch or sitting outside,” Sarah says. “We eat our dinners there as a family, and the kids often do their homework at the breakfast room table. Our house is walking distance from school, and just about any day I’ll have six teenagers raiding the kitchen. This is a house where everyone comes.”

Midcentury-modern chairs bookend an antique-style table on an Oscar Isberian rug. The console table in front of the windows is from Currey & Co.

The classic white cabinets installed by the builder were more traditional than Sarah would have chosen, so Edelmann jazzed them up with sleek nickel and pewter pulls. The refrigerator and freezer door handles are undulating. “Neither of us had seen anything like them. They are sculptural and unique,” Edelmann says. “They feel very feminine, and the curves soften the space.”